As the world braces up for the Tokyo Olympics 2020, India may have just discovered its Usain Bolt. Karnataka resident, Srinivasa Gowda, covered a distance of 100 meters in 9.55 seconds during 'Kambala', an annual buffalo race held in Karnataka. The video of Gowda running alongside a pair of buffaloes in a field filled with mud and water, has gone viral on social media platforms.
The villagers claimed that Gowda’s timing was less than that of Usain Bolt, who holds the world record in the 100-meter race at 9.58 seconds, Outlook India reported.
Twitteratis poured their reactions on the micro-blogging site under the #Kambala.
A user tweeted: “Wow! #SrinivasaGowda ran 100 metres in 9.55 seconds at #Kambala (buffalo race)!! That's faster than Usain Bolt (9.58 seconds). Such hidden talent in our country & look at that physique. Surely from all the hard work every day. Very inspiring.”
Business tycoon Anand Mahindra also appreciated Gowda and tweeted: “Just one look at his physique & you know this man is capable of extraordinary athletic feats. Now either @KirenRijiju provides him training as a 100m sprinter or we get Kambala to become an Olympic event. Either way, we want a gold medal for Srinivasa!”
People urged the government to train Gowda to represent India in international athletics.
One of the users wrote: Mr Srinivasa Gowda from Moodabidre, Karnataka ran 100m in 9.55 seconds at a #Kambala He was faster than @usainbolt who took 9.58 seconds to create a world record. He needs your support ..he can good athletic representative from India.”
Kambala is an annual buffalo race held in Karnataka. Traditionally, it is sponsored by local Tuluva landlords and households in the coastal districts of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi.